DUETS: Transposing the Auditory into the Visual

Abstract

Duets is a jazz album created by Kevin Dean with accompaniment from Jean Michel Pilc. In 2022, Dean had a medical emergency which shook him to his core. This experience is expressed throughout the album’s journey. As Dean puts it, “pulls your ribs open and grabs your heart.”

As a whole, the system focuses on two aspects of Duets, the idea of a conversation between the musicians and the vulnerability that entails. The title, which is built off of a blocky sans serif (ITC Avant Garde Gothic Pro), has transparency which prevents the viewer from being able to read the title unless they combine both colours that represent the back and forth of the musicians’ conversation. In addition, the industrial nature of the typeface adds to this theme by signifying the mechanical nature of one’s body. The primary typeface is accompanied by a friendly and round sans serif that smooths the harsh edges of the rest of the system. The red accent colour was specifically chosen to mimic the raw physical and emotional “insides” of people. Finally, the background image (a photograph provided by Annie Spratt) is used for its texture and to invoke the sentiment seen throughout the package. The texture adds visual interest while keeping the focal point on the foreground elements. The vulnerable sentiment on display is exposed as nothing can be hidden within its stark negative space.

In the end, we cannot participate in the conversation unless we open ourselves up to others.

Faculty Mentor: Constanza Pacher